Suffering from Western sanctions

A Hamas official was briefly held by Palestinian border police for trying to smuggle more than 600,000 euros (about Dh2.9 million) into the country. It was a desperate attempt to bring some money in, when all other legal avenues have been curtailed by Western sanctions. There is also the threat of international sanctions by the US on any financial institution that may try to help the Hamas-led Palestinian government by transferring funds that have been pledged to them by Arab countries. This has led to the democratically elected government broke and unable to pay its army of civil servants, which supports about a quarter of the Palestinian population.

While the European Union is allegedly trying to find ways to get funds to the Palestinians, by going around Hamas and not upsetting the US, Palestinians are suffering through want of medicines and medical treatment, basic necessities such as foodstuffs and other commodities. Palestinians die and the West wrings its hands in mock horror.